The Mercury surface has been mapped from MESSENGER, but there are still several questions to be addressed. As for instance the composition, known only on very large scale, or the analysis with better resolution of the hollows, the most intriguing discovery of MESSENGER. In general, the analysis of the surface provides important input for the understanding of the internal structure and the exosphere source processes, making crucial the synergies between more instruments. SIMBIO-SYS, the suite of three optical heads on board the Mercury Planetary Module (MPO), will provide the global mapping in stereo and spectroscopic mode at unprecedented spatial and spectral resolutions, and a large coverage of the surface at high spatial resolution.

ABOUT GABRIELE CREMONESE

Gabriele Cremonese is senior technologist at the Astronomical Observatory of Padova, INAF. He is involved in several space missions as PI of SIMBIO-SYS, a suite of 3 optical heads, on BepiColombo, CoPI of CaSSIS, the stereo camera on Exomars TGO, deputy-PI and instrument scientist of the camera Janus on JUICE; CoI of Phebus and MSASI on BepiColombo, HiRISE on MRO, OSIRIS on Rosetta, and belong to the science team of PROSPECT (ESA-ROSCOMOS). He has had a leading role in the study of cameras for the missions: Marco Polo, Marco Polo-R, EJSM-JGO, and ARM of NASA. His main research activities are: comets, exospheres, planetary surfaces, dynamical evolution of dust.